How to get speech therapy for my child

Delayed Speech or Language Development (for Parents)

As with other skills and milestones, the age at which kids learn language and start talking can vary. Knowing a bit about speech and language development can help parents figure out if there's cause for concern.

How Do Speech and Language Differ?

Speech is the verbal expression of language and includes articulation (the way we form sounds and words).
Language is giving and getting information. It's understanding and being understood through communication — verbal, nonverbal, and written.

What Are Speech or Language Delays?

Speech and language problems differ, but often overlap. For example:

A child with a language delay might say words well but only be able to put two words together.
A child with a speech delay might use words and phrases to express ideas but be hard to understand.

What Are the Signs of a Speech or Language Delay?

A baby who doesn't respond to sound or vocalize should be checked by a doctor right away. But often, it's hard for parents to know if their child is taking a bit longer to reach a speech or language milestone, or if there's a problem.

Here are some things to watch for. Call your doctor if your child:

by 12 months: isn't using gestures, such as pointing or waving bye-bye
by 18 months: prefers gestures over vocalizations to communicate
by 18 months: has trouble imitating sounds
has trouble understanding simple verbal requests
by 2 years: can only imitate speech or actions and doesn't produce words or phrases spontaneously
by 2 years: says only some sounds or words repeatedly and can't use oral language to communicate more than their immediate needs
by 2 years: can't follow simple directions
by 2 years: has an unusual tone of voice (such as raspy or nasal sounding)

Also call the doctor if your child’s speech is harder to understand than expected for their age:

Parents and regular caregivers should understand about 50% of a child's speech at 2 years and 75% of it at 3 years.
By 4 years old, a child should be mostly understood, even by people who don't know the child.

What Causes Speech or Language Delays?

A speech delay might be due to:

an oral impairment, like problems with the tongue or palate (the roof of the mouth)
a short frenulum (the fold beneath the tongue), which can limit tongue movement

Many kids with speech delays have oral–motor problems. These happen when there's a problem in the areas of the brain responsible for speech. This makes it hard to coordinate the lips, tongue, and jaw to make speech sounds. These kids also might have other oral-motor problems, such as feeding problems.

Hearing problems also can affect speech. So an audiologist should test a child's hearing whenever there's a speech concern. Kids who have trouble hearing may have trouble saying, understanding, imitating, and using language.

Ear infections, especially chronic infections, can affect hearing. But as long as there is normal hearing in one ear, speech and language will develop normally.

How Are Speech or Language Delays Diagnosed?

If your child might have a problem, it's important to see a speech-language pathologist (SLP) right away. You can find a speech-language pathologist on your own, or ask your health care provider to refer you to one.

The SLP (or speech therapist) will check your child's speech and language skills. The pathologist will do standardized tests and look for milestones in speech and language development.

The SLP also will check:

what your child understands (called receptive language)
what your child can say (called expressive language)
sound development and clarity of speech
your child's oral–motor status (how the mouth, tongue, palate, etc., work together for speech as well as eating and swallowing)

Based on the test results, the speech-language pathologist might recommend speech therapy for your child.

How Does Speech Therapy Help?

The speech therapist will work with your child to improve speech and language skills, and show you what to do at home to help your child.

How Can Parents Help?

Parents are an important part of helping kids who have a speech or language problem.

Here are a few ways to encourage speech development at home:

Focus on communication. Talk with your baby, sing, and encourage imitation of sounds and gestures.
Read to your child. Start reading when your child is a baby. Look for age-appropriate soft or board books or picture books that encourage kids to look while you name the pictures.
Use everyday situations. To build on your child's speech and language, talk your way through the day. Name foods at the grocery store, explain what you're doing as you cook a meal or clean a room, and point out objects around the house. Keep things simple, but avoid "baby talk. "

Recognizing and treating speech and language delays early on is the best approach. Call your doctor if you have any concerns about your child’s speech or language development.

Reviewed by: Julia K. Hartnett, MS, CCC-SLP

Date reviewed: March 2022

Speech-Language Therapy (for Parents) - Nemours KidsHealth

What Is Speech-Language Therapy?

Speech-language therapy is the treatment for most kids with speech and/or language disorders.

What Are Speech Disorders?

A speech disorder refers to a problem with making sounds. Speech disorders include:

Articulation disorders: These are problems with making sounds in syllables, or saying words incorrectly to the point that listeners can't understand what's being said.
Fluency disorders: These include problems such as stuttering, in which the flow of speech is interrupted by unusual stops, partial-word repetitions ("b-b-boy"), or prolonging sounds and syllables (sssssnake).
Resonance or voice disorders: These are problems with the pitch, volume, or quality of the voice that distract listeners from what's being said. These types of disorders may also cause pain or discomfort for a child when speaking.

What Are Language Disorders?

A language disorder refers to a problem understanding or putting words together to communicate ideas. Language disorders can be either receptive or expressive:

Receptive disorders are problems with understanding or processing language.
Expressive disorders are problems with putting words together, having a limited vocabulary, or being unable to use language in a socially appropriate way.
Cognitive-communication disorders are problems with communication skills that involve memory, attention, perception, organization, regulation, and problem solving.

What Are Feeding Disorders?

Dysphagia/oral feeding disorders are disorders in the way someone eats or drinks. They include problems with chewing and swallowing, coughing, gagging, and refusing foods.

Who Gives Speech-Language Therapy?

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs), often called speech therapists, are educated in the study of human communication, its development, and its disorders. SLPs assess speech, language, cognitive-communication, and oral/feeding/swallowing skills. This lets them identify a problem and the best way to treat it.

SLPs have:

at least a master's degree
state certification/licensure in the field
a certificate of clinical competency from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)

An ASHA-certified SLP has passed a national exam and completed an ASHA-accredited supervised clinical fellowship.

Sometimes, speech assistants help give speech-language services. They usually have a 2-year associate's or 4-year bachelor's degree, and are supervised by an SLP.

What Do SLPs Do?

In speech-language therapy, an SLP works with a child one-on-one, in a small group, or in a classroom to overcome problems.

Therapists use a variety of strategies, including:

Language intervention activities: The SLP will interact with a child by playing and talking, using pictures, books, objects, or ongoing events to stimulate language development. The therapist may model correct vocabulary and grammar, and use repetition exercises to build language skills.
Articulation therapy: Articulation, or sound production, exercises involve having the therapist model correct sounds and syllables in words and sentences for a child, often during play activities. The level of play is age-appropriate and related to the child's specific needs. The SLP will show the child how to make certain sounds, such as the "r" sound, and may show how to move the tongue to make specific sounds.
Oral-motor/feeding and swallowing therapy: The SLP may use a variety of oral exercises — including facial massage and various tongue, lip, and jaw exercises — to strengthen the muscles of the mouth for eating, drinking, and swallowing. The SLP may also introduce different food textures and temperatures to increase a child's oral awareness during eating and swallowing.

Why Do Some Kids Need Speech-Language Therapy?

Kids might need speech-language therapy for many reasons, including:

hearing impairments
cognitive (intellectual, thinking) or other developmental delays
weak oral muscles
chronic hoarseness
cleft lip or cleft palate
autism
motor planning problems
articulation problems
fluency disorders
respiratory problems (breathing disorders)
feeding and swallowing disorders
traumatic brain injury

Therapy should begin as soon as possible. Children who start therapy early (before they're 5 years old) tend to have better results than those who begin later.

This doesn't mean that older kids won't do well in therapy. Their progress might be slower, though, because they have learned patterns that need to be changed.

How Do I Find a Speech-Language Therapist?

To find a specialist, ask your child's doctor or teacher for a referral, check local directories online, or search on ASHA's website. State associations for speech-language pathology and audiology also keep listings of licensed and certified therapists.

Your child's SLP should be licensed in your state and have experience working with kids and your child's specific disorder.

How Can Parents Help?

Parents are key to the success of a child's progress in speech or language therapy. Kids who finish the program quickest and with the longest-lasting results are those whose parents were involved.

Ask the therapist what you can do. For instance, you can help your child do the at-home activities that the SLP suggests. This ensures the continued progress and carry-over of new skills.

Overcoming a speech or language disorder can take time and effort. So it's important that all family members be patient and understanding with the child.

Reviewed by: Julia K. Hartnett, MS, CCC-SLP

Date reviewed: March 2022

How to get free classes with a speech therapist and other specialists

Marina Khitrova

learned how not to pay for classes with a speech therapist

Author profile

My eldest son is now five and a half years old and goes to a public kindergarten in Moscow.

In September 2022, my son will go to a preparatory group, so in early April he had a consultation with a speech therapist in a kindergarten. This is a standard procedure that all children went through. Based on the results of the consultation, the speech therapist compiled a list of children with speech disorders that it is desirable to correct before school. nine0003

My son was also on this list. This was expected: according to my observations, he has problems with several sounds: instead of [g] he pronounces [h], instead of [w] - [s], instead of [r] - [l].

In our garden, classes with a speech therapist cost 5000 R per month. But I was able to collect all the necessary documents and arrange free individual speech therapy classes for my son. In the article I will tell you how I succeeded and how to repeat my experience.

I bought these cards to study with my son on my own. But I quickly realized that I wanted to delegate this issue to a professional and not waste our joint leisure time on study and didactic tone

Who is entitled to free classes with a speech therapist and how to get them

Back in April, the speech therapist invited parents to meet and discuss how the classes would be organized. At this meeting, I learned that my son can study with a speech therapist for free twice a week for 20 minutes, but for this I need to get the conclusion of the Central Psychological-Medical-Pedagogical Commission - CPMPC.

What is CPMPC. This commission determines whether the child needs special educational conditions, and if so, which ones. For example, the CPMPC can appoint free classes with a speech therapist or psychologist, for hearing-impaired children - classes with a teacher of the deaf, and for visually impaired children - using Braille textbooks. nine0003

There is a CPMPC in every region of Russia and every major Russian city - one commission per 10,000 children. The commission usually includes:

educational psychologist;
teacher-defectologist;
speech pathologist;
pediatrician;
neurologist;
ophthalmologist;
otorhinolaryngologist;
orthopedist;
child psychiatrist;
social pedagogue.

Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation of September 20.2013 No. 1082

But in different regions there may be different specialists in the CPMPC.

How to get a CPMPC opinion. Any child under 18 from any family can pass the commission. She gives out opinions for free. In order for a child to be included in the commission, their parents need to prepare:

A medical report on the child's health.
Characteristics of the child, compiled by the educational organization.
Passport of the parent or legal representative of the child - a copy and original will be required. nine0028
Child's birth certificate - a copy and original will also be required.

I had such a package of documents. But in other situations, additional documents may be required. For example:

for children with disabilities - a certificate from the Bureau of Medical and Social Expertise and an individual rehabilitation or habilitation program;
if the child already has a passport, its original and copy;
if the child has already passed the CPMPC, a copy of the previous report; nine0028
if the child is already in school, copies of test or written papers certified by the school in Russian or native language and mathematics;
if an educational or medical organization sent to the commission, then this is the referral. But if there is no direction, then you do not need to specifically receive it.

A detailed list of documents for various situations is available at mos.ru.

How to get a medical report

A medical report on the child's health and referral to the CPMPC is issued by the local pediatrician. At the same time, referrals from other specialists are not required to contact a pediatrician. nine0003

For example, if a speech therapist in the kindergarten did not find any problems with your child's speech, but you think there are, you can contact the pediatrician and the CPMPC yourself. And vice versa, if it seems to you that your child does not have speech disorders, but a speech therapist in kindergarten thinks otherwise, you are not required to go through commission and agree to classes.

At the appointment, the local pediatrician will examine the child and write out referrals to other doctors. Which one depends on the region. In Moscow it can be:

neurologist;
otorhinolaryngologist;
psychiatrist;
orthopedic traumatologist;
ophthalmologist.

Annex 4 to the order of the Moscow Department of Health dated October 11, 2021 No. 975PDF, 141 KB

don't have to. For example, one of the mothers, who was the first of our group to go through the entire procedure, said that they were referred to a neurologist, an ophthalmologist, an ENT specialist, and a psychiatrist. In addition, we only had to go through a neurologist, because we recently went to the ophthalmologist and ENT on our own, and apparently there were no grounds for a psychiatrist. nine0003

My son and I went to the pediatrician on April 29, and to the neurologist on May 4. A day later, already without a child, I again came to the pediatrician. At this appointment, I wrote an application with a request to provide a medical report on my son's state of health for the passage of the CPMPC.

/list/pediatrics-2/

“Most often, a child does not need medicines”: 10 important questions to pediatrician Fedor Katasonov

The doctor said that the conclusion would be ready in a couple of days, but since the May holidays were ahead, she advised me to come for him in a week to be sure. As a result, I took it on May 13, 2022. nine0003 This is how our medical report and referral to undergo CPMPC looked like

How to get a reference

In our garden, references for children are made by a speech therapist and psychologist. But they do not prepare them in advance: apparently, not all parents go through the bureaucratic quest with the CPMPC. Therefore, I contacted a speech therapist immediately after I wrote a statement to the pediatrician - on May 5. And the speech therapist agreed with the psychologist herself.

The characterization was ready the very next day. But I took it only on May 13, 2022 - on the same day as the medical report. nine0003 I already had a contact with a speech therapist, so I just wrote her a message. If there had been no contact, I would have come to her office in kindergarten

How to sign up for the TsPMPC

You can sign up for a commission in Moscow on mos.ru - for this you need a medical report number. To sign up for a commission in the regions, use the PMPK navigator.

There are three branches of TsPMPC in Moscow:

In the Second Upper Mikhailovsky passage, house 9a.
On Dolgorukovskaya street, house 5.

19 Bekhtereva street. I was approached by a branch near the Mayakovskaya metro station - on Dolgorukovskaya, 5.

I went to mos.ru on May 13, when I had all the documents. At first it seemed to me that there were a lot of available dates, but for some reason they were all gray and it was impossible to select them. I decided that this was some kind of mistake on the site, so I reloaded the page and even the computer several times, and then tried to make an appointment by phone. nine0003

/list/pediatric-neurology/

“A third of the diagnoses for children were made in vain”: 15 questions to the pediatric neurologist Anastasia Nosko

After 20 minutes, I realized that the dates that were already taken were highlighted in gray. And in blue - free. To find free dates, I had to scroll the slider down a month ahead. The nearest available date turned out to be only June 16: this is the day I chose.

How was our commission

My son and I arrived at the commission by 17:00. First, I had to transfer the documents to the administrators and fill out consent forms for the processing of personal data - mine and my son's. nine0003

After that, we were called to the office. The son was seated at a desk, on the sides of which sat the experts of the commission: a psychologist teacher, a speech therapist teacher, a defectologist teacher and a social pedagogue. They began to show different pictures with animals and objects and ask their son questions. For example, they asked what the name of a baby dog is and what time of the year comes after autumn.

At first the son was a little confused and called the baby dog a little dog. I giggled, the teachers also smiled, so my son was not at all upset, quickly corrected himself and continued to answer questions. At the end, the educational psychologist praised my son and told him that it was already possible to go and hug my mother - it was very nice. nine0003

/list/school-requirements/

6 factors that affect a child's admission to a prestigious school

In total, we spent ten minutes in the classroom. After that, they gave me to sign the protocol and the conclusion of the commission and said that we would be given directions to classes with a speech therapist and psychologist for the entire time the child was in kindergarten. As for the psychologist, I was surprised, but delighted: such classes will definitely not be superfluous.

I am not yet sure that my son will go to school in a year - at six years and ten months. Perhaps he will stay in the garden for another year. But in any case, a speech therapist and a psychologist will deal with him all this time. nine0003

They didn’t give me the conclusion of the commission right away - they said that they would need to come for it when I received a notification on mos.ru. By law, it must be prepared within five working days. I took it on June 24th.

clause 22 of the regulation on the psychological, medical and pedagogical commission, approved. By order of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation dated September 20, 2013 No. 1082

The message that the commission’s conclusion was ready arrived on mos.ru exactly five working days later And this is what the conclusion itself looks like

How to notify a kindergarten

At the last stage, the conclusion of the CPMPC should be taken to the educational organization. I brought it to a speech therapist in kindergarten on June 28. As a result, the whole process took me two months.

I didn’t have to fill out or sign anything else - the speech therapist simply said that my son’s classes would begin in September.

Considering that paid lessons with a speech therapist in our garden cost 5,000 R per month, and individual hourly lessons with a private speech therapist in Moscow start from 1,700 R, in a year I will save from 45,000 R. I think that all this running around with papers of that cost. I didn't spend much time and effort on it. nine0003

/prava/deti-deti-detishechki/

Rights of Kindergarten Parents

Advice for Parents

If you think your child has a speech impediment, you can take the CPMPC yourself. If the commission in conclusion recommends classes with a speech therapist, the educational institution will provide them free of charge.
Before signing up for the CPMPC, you need to go to the local pediatrician, who will refer the child to other doctors, and then issue a medical certificate. nine0028
Be prepared for the fact that you may not be able to quickly enroll in the CPMPC. The peak load of the commission, as a rule, falls on the summer.
If you do not want to spend time on passing the commission, but classes are recommended for your child, you can sign up for them in a kindergarten or other place for a fee.

Materials that will help parents save their budget and sanity are in our telegram channel @t_dety.

How to write an article about your parenting experience, we tell in our manual: read it and become our author. nine0003

when you need it, how to find a specialist

Lada Trusevich

speech therapist

Author's profile

“I don't want to wear a coat! I went to needle in shawki!”

Such slurred speech can often be heard on the playground. Many parents, although they see the problem, do not know what to do with it, whether to worry or just wait until speech improves on its own.

I am a teacher with 30 years of experience. For the last nine years I have been practicing speech therapy and preparing children for school. I will tell you how to understand that a child needs the help of a speech therapist, where to look for the right specialist, and why it is also important for parents to get involved in the speech correction process. nine0003

What you will learn

What speech therapists do
When parents should be wary
Where to get advice
What a conclusion looks like
Where to find a specialist for regular classes
How parents can help a child

How to raise children and not go broke

The best materials on how to cope with parenthood and get the most out of the state - every Tuesday in your mail. Free

What speech therapists do

Speech therapy studies and corrects speech disorders in children and adults. A speech therapist tries to understand the causes of speech problems and helps to eliminate them. Since speech begins to form from birth, most often a speech therapist works with preschoolers.

This is what he does:

Performs an examination and detects speech disorders.
Comprehensively works on the elimination of violations - correctly "puts" the sound, develops clear pronunciation skills, increases the child's vocabulary. Sometimes he works in a team with other specialists, for example, a neurologist or defectologist. nine0028
Introduces correct speech into everyday life with the help of games, conversations, creative tasks and consolidates the result.
Engaged in the prevention of speech disorders, including exercises for the development and strengthening of the speech apparatus, finger gymnastics, and educational games for the development of speech.

In short and simple, a speech therapist works to make speech correct and beautiful. This is important because:

An increase in vocabulary and the ability to correctly express one's thoughts increase self-esteem. nine0028
Competent speech allows you to take an active part in games, creative work, study.
Reduces the risk of writing and reading disorders.
When a person is understood by others, it facilitates communication.
Proper speech eliminates restrictions in choosing a profession.

/dysgraphia/

I spent 471,500 R over 12 years treating my son's speech and writing difficulties , hat - "sapka", fish - "iyba", cat - "that", stick - "soldering". But there are many other problems. For example, incorrect use of prepositions or agreement of words in a sentence: “red hat”, “the girl went to bed”. Or the replacement of syllables in words, their reduction, repeated pronunciation: stick - “papalka”, captain - “pikitan”, orange - “lupusin”. nine0003

Most often people come to the consultation with the following questions:

The child is 2-3 years old, he does not speak at all, uses only babble words in his speech, cannot form a phrase, or his speech is illegible.
A child of 4-5 years old, he uses only simple, short words, changes syllables in words, replaces, skips, distorts sounds, has a small vocabulary, cannot coherently tell about events.

Parents with babies under two years of age did not contact me. This is understandable: many believe that a speech delay of up to two years is the norm. Sometimes this is true: if the pregnancy and childbirth went well, the child is physically healthy and develops according to the schedule, understands the speech addressed to him, then most likely there is no reason for concern. nine0003

/pervoe-slovo/

How to help a child speak faster

If a mother had complications during pregnancy or childbirth, such as toxicosis, infectious diseases, asphyxia, then speech development is at risk. There are other signals that you need to respond to: for example, impaired reflexes of newborns, lack of cooing and babbling. If these signs are present, you need to contact a speech therapist, even if the baby is not yet two years old.

Next, I’ll tell you step by step what to do if parents notice any violations in the child’s speech and become worried. nine0003

What is the norm of speech development

In speech therapy there is the concept of "norm of speech development". In the table below, I described it by age stages. This information will help the mother analyze the child's speech and pay attention to speech defects in time, if any.

How children's speech should sound at different ages

903 Can construct a short sentence14 , for example "Mom, go!", ask a simple question and draw a conclusion 20314 words

Age	The appearance of sounds	Vocabulary	Parts of speech	What a child can do
0-1 year	[a], [o], [y], [i] [p], [b], [m]	20 words nouns	Performs simple requests
2-3 years	[d], [n], [k], [g], [x]	300 words	Nouns and verbs
3-4 years	[s], [s], [s], [s], [s], [ts]. Sounds differ in softness-hardness, deafness-voicedness	800 words	Adds adjectives, pronouns and prepositions	Builds 3-4 word sentences
4-5 years	[w], [g], [h], [w]	Adverbs and numerals appear	Speaks in extended sentences, selects rhymes, composes poems and stories [p]	5000 words	All parts of speech are present, the child uses them correctly	Can compose a story with a plot change. Owns intonation

0—1 year

Appearance of sounds

[a], [o], [y], [u] [p], [b], [m]

Vocabulary

20 words

Parts of speech

Shouting, cooing, babbling, first nouns

What the child can do

Performs simple requests

2-3 years

Appearance of sounds

[d], [n], [k], [g], [x]

Vocabulary

300 words

Parts of speech

Nouns What a child can do

Can build a short sentence, for example, “Mom, go!”, ask a simple question and draw a conclusion

3-4 years

The appearance of sounds

[s], [s], [s], [s], [s], [c]. Sounds differ in softness-hardness, deafness-voicedness

Slothing stock

800 words

Parts of speech

Adjectives, pronouns and prepositions

are added that a child can

build sentences of 3-4 words

4-5 years

The appearance of sounds

[Sh ], [w], [h], [u]

Vocabulary

2000 words

Parts of speech

Adverbs and numerals appear

What the child can do

Speaks in extended sentences, selects rhymes and stories, composes

5—6 years

Appearance of sounds

Child pronounces all sounds normally, but [l], [l], [p], [p] may be absent

Vocabulary

5000 words

Parts of speech

All parts of speech are present, the child uses them correctly

What the child can do

Can compose a story with a change in plot. Owns intonation

Such norms are always averaged. Therefore, if during scheduled medical examinations, doctors did not reveal any deviations that could affect the development of the speech of a two-three-year-old child, but something is still bothering the mother, it is better to play it safe and make an appointment with a speech therapist. nine0003

If the specialist did not find any problems, then the speech therapist should visit the second time when the child is 4-5 years old. A re-examination will allow you not to miss the violations that could have occurred after the first visit.

Step 1

Find a speech therapist and make an appointment for the first consultation

The choice of a specialist depends on the requests and capabilities of the parents. I advise you to choose according to the reviews of acquaintances and friends or look at the reviews on social networks. In extreme cases, you can always talk in person, form an opinion, and then decide whether you and your child will be comfortable working with this speech therapist. nine0003

Here's how to get to your first consultation.

Get a referral from a pediatrician. This can be done at the polyclinic at the place of residence - free of charge. However, not every clinic has a speech therapist. And if there is, then it will not be possible to get to him quickly: usually everything is scheduled for several weeks in advance.

Contact the center of psychological, pedagogical, medical and social assistance in your area. Here, the examination is carried out comprehensively - that is, the child is examined by several specialists at once. It's free, but there may be a queue. nine0003

/free-logoped/

How I got my son free classes with a speech therapist in kindergarten

Enroll in a private speech therapy center. It will be possible to get to a specialist quickly, you can choose a convenient time. But I recommend monitoring the cost of services: the spread is quite large. Often the amount depends not only on the qualifications of the specialist, but also on the pricing policy of the center's management.

Visit a private speech therapist. The services of private speech therapists are quite expensive, but the choice of specialists is large. As an example, I will give my prices: the initial twenty-minute consultation costs 300 R, then - 700 R for 30 minutes. But I am familiar with speech therapists who charge 1500-2500 R per hour. nine0003

Step 2

Get a specialist opinion

How is the appointment. First, the speech therapist asks the parents about the development of the child - starting with how the pregnancy proceeded and ending with today. He tries to learn more about his health and what worries his parents. To set the child in a friendly way, he offers game exercises and tasks.

Speech therapy examination includes the analysis of speech and non-verbal mental functions - thinking, memory, attention, gross and fine motor skills. The duration of the diagnosis depends on how quickly the speech therapist managed to find contact with the child, and on the severity of the speech disorder. For example, to study general motor skills, I ask a child to jump in place, first on two legs, then on the left, then on the right. I enter the data into a speech card. And so on for each of the functions. nine0003

/list/pediatr-deti/

11 important questions to pediatrician Sergei Butriy

What questions does the specialist ask? At the first consultation, the speech therapist will ask a lot of questions - this is normal. Speech disorders are often associated with causes that, at first glance, do not relate to speech itself: with the psychophysical development of the child, family and concomitant diseases, social and living conditions.

For example, a speech therapist may be interested in the conditions of upbringing - so he will find out in what social environment the child grows up and how it affects his speech development. An example from my experience: the idea of correct speech was disturbed in a small patient, he made many mistakes. It turned out that the cause was a bilingual nanny who spoke Russian with an accent to the child. nine0003

The speech therapist may also be interested in the child's diet: whether he eats solid food, how he chews it. In my practice, there was a case when the child ate in the main puree. As a result, very weak muscles of the mouth and tongue. This, in turn, led to a violation of the pronunciation of many sounds.

I had to work with a child who developed dyslalia - the so-called impaired sound pronunciation in those who have normal hearing and a healthy articulatory apparatus. With the help of questions, we managed to find out the reason: the baby almost did not hear the correct speech, since the parents had serious hearing problems. nine0003

/baby-dont-cry/

4 crises of child development from birth to school

Therefore, I emphasize once again: a specialist can and should ask all these questions. The more openly the parents cooperate in the examination, the more accurately the problem can be identified.

First consultation with a speech therapist, auditory perception test. Exercise for the perception and reproduction of rhythm: a speech therapist taps a certain rhythm with a musical tube, and the child repeats it with the help of a hammer. This is how the manuals for checking the direction and duration of physiological breathing look like. On the left is a tube with a train: the child must inhale through his nose and exhale into the tube, if everything is done correctly, then the train will spin.

The task of a speech therapist is to achieve a long and smooth exhalation

What will happen after the examination. After the diagnosis, a speech therapist can refer you to a neurologist or defectologist - this should not be frightened. Many types of speech disorders, such as dysarthria, alalia, aphasia, are associated with damage to the central nervous system. Their accurate diagnosis is possible only through the joint efforts of a speech therapist and, for example, a neurologist, otolaryngologist, psychotherapist, ophthalmologist. Speech therapy work is effective only when combined with special treatment that stimulates the maturation of the central nervous system. nine0003

Dysarthria - impaired pronunciation of words due to damage to the nervous system

Alalia - absence or underdevelopment of speech in children with normal hearing and primary intact intelligence

Aphasia - a disorder in which the ability to use one's own speech and / or understand is partially or completely lost addressed speech

The specialist also fills out a speech card - a notebook with information about the child, and then draws conclusions about the speech disorder and draws up a plan for corrective work. The type of speech map depends on the age - 2-3 years, 4-7 years, as well as on violations - for children with stuttering, with general underdevelopment of speech, and so on. But they all represent a survey plan. At the end, the speech therapist issues a conclusion to the parents. nine0003 An example of a conclusion issued by a speech therapist after an initial examination This is how a speech map may look outside and inside. Source: ozon.ru

👍 If the child has no problems with speech, then the speech therapist will give parents general recommendations: learn poetry, read books together, talk.

❗ If there is a problem, then the specialist draws up a plan for corrective work, taking into account the specifics of speech impairment. Sometimes it can be everyday conversations, listening to music, but the main form of corrective work of a speech therapist with children is classes. I'll tell you more about this. nine0003

/guide/books-for-children/

How to choose the perfect book for your child

Step 3

Choose the place and form of speech therapy sessions

Often, parents start taking their child to classes with a speech therapist who has been examined. But it is not necessary to do this, the choice is up to the parents. This is where they also work with children who have speech problems.

Polyclinic at the place of residence. Classes will be free, which is a plus. Of the minuses - you may have to visit them at an inconvenient time. In addition, such classes are often limited in time, they may not be enough to completely eliminate the violation. nine0003

Center for psychological, pedagogical, medical and social assistance in your area. Free classes are also held here, which are clearly limited in time. There is a queue.

Private speech therapy center. You can choose a convenient time to visit and practice as much as you need. Typically, classes last from 30 to 60 minutes, their cost varies from 700 to 3000 RUR.

Speech therapy garden. Classes in the garden are held regularly. In parallel, work is underway with other specialists: a psychologist, a neurologist, a defectologist. It's free. But it is difficult to get into the speech therapy garden, there are not enough places for everyone. Therefore, usually only children with serious speech therapy problems are taken there. nine0003

/list/atypical-kindergarten/

English with a native speaker and early career guidance: 10 kindergartens in Moscow with an atypical program

Municipal kindergarten with a speech therapy group or speech center. Classes are also held here free of charge and regularly. But speech therapists in general developmental kindergartens have a large workload, so the number of places is usually limited. And if the child needs the help of other specialists, they will most likely have to be sought in other institutions. nine0003

Private speech therapist. The services of private speech therapists are quite expensive - from 1000 R. But the choice of specialists is large, and you can discuss the format of classes, for example, ask a specialist to conduct them at your home.

Classes can be conducted both individually with a speech therapist, and as part of a group. The first option is more expensive, but more effective, since all attention and time is given to one child. If you decide to save money and study in a group, then you need to pay attention to the fact that all children have the same type of speech disorders. Usually there are 10-12 people in a group. nine0003

It is worth considering that, despite similar problems, the success of some children in the group will be higher. But since the classes are joint, the speech therapist will not be able to devote more time to lagging behind children, so it will not be possible to force events.

How the classes go

The content of the classes depends on the tasks and the stage of speech correction. This is what a speech therapist usually does:

works on the sound side of speech - teaches the correct pronunciation of sounds, develops phonemic hearing and perception; nine0028
forms the lexical and grammatical structure of the language - teaches you to change words by numbers and cases, create new ones with the help of prefixes, suffixes, combine words correctly;
develops coherent speech - teaches how to make sentences using pictures, retell texts, compose stories.

To make it more interesting for the child to study, the specialist uses various aids - from puzzles to rpg games.

/list/kids-dev-apps/

14 educational apps for kids

How long does it take to achieve a result

It is almost impossible to determine the time it will take to solve a problem. This is very individual and depends on many factors:

the nature and severity of the speech disorder;
training intensity;
interests of the child and parents;
strict implementation of recommendations;
physical and psychological characteristics of the child.

The same, at first glance, violation in two children will be eliminated at different times. For example, last year I studied with two preschoolers. They were both five years old, and they both did not pronounce the sound [r]. The first boy managed to correct the sound pronunciation in eight sessions of 30 minutes, and the second - in nine months. It was a matter of the speech apparatus: the first boy had it normal, while the second had a shortened hyoid ligament.

/list/pediatrics-2/

“Most often, a child does not need medicines”: 10 important questions to pediatrician Fedor Katasonov

After setting the sound, it takes a lot of time to fix it in words, sentences, colloquial speech

How parents can help a child

Speech correction is work, and sometimes not very pleasant. As a rule, a speech therapist devotes a lot of time to strengthening the muscles of the speech apparatus, pronouncing a large number of words with practicing various sounds. This is monotonous work, it is difficult and sometimes boring for children to do it. Therefore, they can be capricious and refuse to study.

It is important for a parent to help the child, to be consistent and persistent, because the best assistant in speech therapy work is discipline. You will have to work hard together with the child: you must follow all the recommendations and homework given by the speech therapist. These can be daily articulation exercises, tasks for working out the desired sound in words, phrases, sentences, tracking sound in colloquial speech.

For example, with a child of four and a half years old, who had complex speech disorders, we practiced the production of the sound [w] and the stable fixation of the delivered sound [s] in words. I recommended that parents do articulation exercises daily with exercises aimed specifically at the sound [w]. And also - speech games using words with the sound [s]: "One-many", "Fourth extra" and others. nine0003

Lost time only reinforces incorrect speech development. This is confirmed by statistics: about 60% of Russian schoolchildren come to the first grade with speech disorders, to which problems with writing and reading are added after. Therefore, the sooner parents start correcting mistakes in speech, the easier and faster it will be possible to achieve results.